Nelly Korda has been one of the mainstays on the LPGA Tour for nearly a decade. But the No. 2 player in the world entered the 2026 Chevron Championship looking to win his third major title after an incredible 5-0 2025 season with the goal of adding major hardware to his collection.
After two sensational rounds at Chevron’s new home, Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston, Texas, Korda clinched his first major victory of the season. Korda shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday to take a two-shot lead, and extended his advantage by another 65 on Friday.
By the time Korda left the 18th green and signed his card, he had a seven-stroke lead over his next closest rival, doubling the seven-under mark of fellow slugger Ryan O’Toole and amateur Farrah O’Keefe. Patty Tavatanakit, who shot a 5-under 67 in the first round, had not yet started the second round when Korda finished 36 holes and shot 14 under in the clubhouse. He will be the biggest hope for the afternoon wave, which will keep Korda’s advantage to less than 7.
Until Tabatanakit’s truly phenomenal performance this afternoon, Korda has the largest 36-hole lead in tournament history (the previous record is four strokes) and will likely have the lowest score through 36 holes in an LPGA major other than the Evian Championship, according to Justin Ray.
Memorial Park was beautifully prepared for the Korda game. It’s a long golf course with wide fairways, but the playing time is even longer (and wider) because the fairways and greens have been softened by the heavy rain that hit the Houston area earlier in the week. Korda’s combination of distance and accuracy off the tee is always an advantage, but especially in situations like this. Combine this with great ball striking and a hot putter and you have something truly special.
Korda had a strong front nine, coming out at 2 under, but picked up his game early on the back. She birdied the long par-3 11th and par-4 12th in quick succession, and used her length to reach the par-5 14th with two. He missed a pretty short eagle putt, but still made another birdie.
Korda continued his incredible ball-striking performance over the next few holes, missing a few opportunities, but was able to finish his round on a strong note with two impressive birdies on the 17th and 18th holes, throwing two darts from the center of the fairway toward the flag.
For the round, Korda hit 11 of 13 fairways with an average drive of 268 yards, and translated that strong driving display into 14 of 18 greens in regulation, making for a stress-free stroll around Memorial Park.
After the round, Korda said that the birdies on Nos. 17 and 18 were especially big in creating a strong cushion heading into the weekend, even though Tavatanakit is still scheduled to play the second round.
Korda’s start at Chevron was eerily reminiscent of what Rory McIlroy saw in his first men’s major of the season at the Masters — until Friday’s flurry of birdies at No. 2 and 9 gave him a big lead. McIlroy took a record six-shot lead over the weekend at Augusta National, and while we’ll wait to find out exactly how big Korda’s lead is by the end of Friday, she seems destined to tee off with a sizable advantage Saturday afternoon.
Korda hopes Sunday night’s result will be the same, but his goal is to avoid creating the drama that McIlroy did over the weekend. He lost a six-stroke lead through the first 12 holes of the third round and did not regain control of the tournament until midway through the second nine holes Sunday.
In this situation, it would be hard to see Korda backing down on this particular golf course, so someone else would be obligated to get hot and go after her. If that doesn’t happen, there could be a coronation walk around Memorial Park this weekend for Korda, who is aiming for her second Chevron title and third major title overall, as she moves further up the all-time list.
